title: DSM-III and DSM-III-R diagnosis of autism and pervasive developmental disorder in nursery school children.
abstract: DSM-III and DSM-III-R diagnoses of 112 developmentally disordered preschool children were compared. There was no significant difference between the DSM-III and DSM-III-R diagnosis of the inclusive category of pervasive developmental disorder, but nearly twice as many cases (58) were diagnosed as autistic disorder by DSM-III-R criteria as were diagnosed as infantile autism (31) by DSM-III. Thirty children met both DSM-III and DSM-III-R criteria for autism (IA/AD) and 23 received a DSM-III diagnosis of atypical PDD (A-PDD) and a DSM-III-R diagnosis of AD (A-PDD/AD). All of the IA/AD children and none of the A-PDD/AD group displayed a marked lack of awareness of others. DSM-III-R criteria have specifically broadened the concept of autism to include children who, although socially impaired, are not pervasively unresponsive to others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College, New York.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hertzig
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Snow
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: New
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shapiro
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations